Expanded Plastic Foam Construction Toy

ABSTRACT

The disclosed invention is of a children&#39;s construction toy made of expanded plastic foam extrusions. These extrusions can be cut to a desired size and then assembled either with or without fasteners into a wide variety of configurations including log cabins, pirate ships, castles and cars.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY

The disclosed technology relates generally to building toys and morespecifically to light weight toys made of expanded plastic foam such aspolyethylene or polyurethane.

BACKGROUND

Children's blocks have forever been a source of creative play. FrankLloyd Wright famously credits his childhood blocks as a significantoutlet for his creative mind from a very early age. While playing withblocks is often an immersive experience, few sets of blocks allow forthe construction of structures that are full size play sets. The risk ofsuch a structure falling on a child has typically prevented this scaleof immersive play set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The 34 sheets of figures show various parts of the construction toy aswell as various constructed configurations thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY

The disclosed technology relates to a construction toy for children andtheir parents that allow hollow extrusions of expanded plastic foam of acustom profile to improve non-coaxial stackability and to be cut with atoy saw, to a length desired to allow them to construct playsets oftheir own design or of others designs in which they can hide and play.

The hollow substantially oval extrusions can be accurately described ashaving a cross section profile with a straight horizontal line on topand bottom and the sides between these as being a radius of a circle.This design provides the opportunity to crisscross stack the extrusionslike the logs of a log cabin for easy construction.

The foam extrusions for building a playset of a child's own design aremade of expanded plastic such as polyethylene. This extrusion can haveholes through the noodle so that fasteners can be used to temporarilyattach the extrusions to each other to aid construction.

To help a child or parent correctly measure an extrusion to followinstructions or their own design plans, the extrusion can have holes forfasteners through the flat sides of the extrusion at a known distancebetween the through holes. In this way, the number of the holes counted,times the distance between the centerpoints of the holes, such as twoinches provides the measured length of the extrusion betweencenterpoints of the through holes.

While tied string or adhesive tape can be used to fasten the extrusionsto each other, a simple mechanical fastener that is injection molded inplastic will provide a more convenient way to temporarily or removablyattach the extrusions to each other for easy construction of playsets orother structures.

For safety reasons, the molded plastic fasteners need to pass the toyindustry's standard test geometries of the Small Part Test to preventswallowing of the part by children and the Bulbous Part Test so thefastener cannot become lodged inside a child's mouth. Toy industrystudies have established that a diameter greater than 1.7″ achieves alevel of safety acceptable in toy design to pass both of the above testsand is the minimum diameter of the central disk in the design of thefastener for that reason. The fastener then only needs to be long enoughto have an detail at either end away from the central disk to passthrough a hole in the extrusion with an interference fit so it can holdthose two extrusions together unless they are deliberately pulled apart.

Many other fastener designs are anticipated that allow a child to attachextrusions to each other in specific orientations such as parallel toeach other or at right angles to each other. Some of these fasteners aredesigned to work together.

A toy saw that allows a child to cut the extrusions easily, withoutcreating an opportunity for a child to accidentally cut themselves isalso anticipated. The saw will not have saw teeth as traditional sawsdo, but rather a non-sharp straight edge that simply bursts thethousands of soft plastic bubbles in the extrusion when it is drawnacross the extrusion with downward pressure. This method of cutting theextrusion results in no mess that is associated with sawdust and it alsomakes cutting a finger very difficult to do accidentally.

The saw is anticipated to have a flat or planar plastic sheet held intension between the structural handle of the saw which is in the shapeof an inverted, extended “U” similar to traditional hack saw designs.The portion of the saw used for cutting can be made of plastic or metal,and be planar or predominantly linear in shape such as a string or wire.

The toy is designed to provide children not only an easy to useconstruction toy but also an educational toy that helps them plan inthree dimensions and visualize their design in their mind or on theircomputer device prior to making it.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNOLOGY

Expanded polyethylene noodles provide a lightweight, soft, structuralmaterial that can allow children to safely build play structures oftheir own imaginations that reach over their heads without concern ofinjury. The blown polyethylene foam blocks interlock with simpleconnector designs that allow a child to assemble log cabins, forts,castles, boats and other imaginative structures quickly and easily withno tools other than possibly a saw. A miter and saw, or a string, allowsnoodles or planks to be cut to size with no measuring and little if anymess and little risk of injury to the child. Finally this is acylindrical block playset that is great for inside or outside play thatallows children to create wonderful spaces to enclose themselves. Whilethe playset is designed for the real world, a computer based playset forthe computer world is certainly anticipated as well. In this way,children can plan their designs on the computer, make them in the realworld and play with them in either environment.

The construction toy of embodiments of the disclosed technology is madefrom blown or expanded polyethylene foam logs which are flat on twosides. A “log” for purposes of this disclosure is defined as anelongated and typically hollow cylinder with flattened exterior sides;the flattened sides being opposite one another. As the logs are madefrom polyethylene (like a “pool noodle” known in the art). They can becut with a saw that a child can use. The expanded polyethylene extrusionis also malleable such that they can be bent from a straight shape to anacute angle shape and held there by connection with other logs, sheetsor fasteners. Upon disconnection, a bent long will generally return toits original straight shape. Portals or through holes which pass throughthe flat exterior sides and/or rounded exterior sides (depending onembodiment) allow fixed, pivoted, and/or removable connection betweentwo logs. “Fixed” connection is defined as one which is expected to ordoes cause breakage to one of the parts described when removed.“Removable” is defined as able to connect and disconnect repeatedly (>6times) without causing breakage to a connector piece or parts beingconnected. “Pivoted” is defined as a linkage that allows a at least onedegree of freedom of movement similar to a hinge between fastened logsor parts.

As the otherwise cylindrical logs have flattop and bottom exteriorsides, they are stackable to allow the pieces to fit and sit in a stablemanner one on top of the other even without the aid of furtherconnectors. This stacking can be the same stacking configuration as onewould associate with crisscrossed logs in log cabin construction. Thisoccurs while having rounded exterior sides for a pleasing aestheticlook. Items can be constructed in small sizes (holdable in one's hand)or large sizes (fit one's body there-in).

Now turning to the figures, the figures will be referred to by pagenumber and title printed there on. The “castle playhouse” beginning page1 shows a variety of vertically oriented logs attached side by side withconnectors (the connectors will be described later). Over the archway,smaller logs are cut to size, as shown, and connected into each otherwhile series of top pieces are further attached.

On page 2, one can see the connector to allow logs to rotate orientationor direction. These are right angle connectors which are rigid and fixedin their shape, having one portal facing at a 90 degree angle toanother, the portals used to pass male connectors (e.g. screw)there-through as well as through a portal on a log. In the lowestdrawing on this page, two logs attached at 90 degree angles to oneanother are shown. That is, the flat side of one log is at a 90 degreeangle to the flat side of another log and a right angle connector pieceattaches to a portal of each log with a male connector passing througheach log and each right angle (female) connector.

The logs, when attached in parallel, use a straight (female) collector,as shown on page 3, “connectors for the castle playhouse.” Here, theportals of the straight connector or aligned in the same two-dimensionalplane and one attaches one, two, or more straight connectors to adjacentlogs to hold them in place together.

An example of a fastener is shown on page 4—this is a male connector.Here, a central round plate bisects each of the opposite ends. The endspoint in opposite directions, outward from the central plate, each enddesigned to pass through a portal of a log or logs and/or a portal of afemale connector. There are pluralities of portals along each log whereconnectors can be placed allowing the axis of the logs to be angledrelative to each other not just limited to right angle connections.

Page 5, labeled “hand saw in use” shows a saw having a narrow and planarplate with a straight side. In this case, a rounded back side with widerhandle is used. One can use the straight side of the planar saw to moveback and forth to cut a log. The straight side need not be particularlysharp, and as such, is safe for children since it is sharp enough to cutpolyethylene but not sharp enough to cut through butter. In otherembodiments, a sharper saw or toothed saw could be used. Note also thetoy miter used to help hold the log being cut. The miter has a flatbottom for resting on the ground and a curved concave opposite sidehaving a circumference equal to or slightly larger than a log. The logrests there in and a top piece can be placed over the log and attachedon either side to the miter. The top piece can have a portal passingthere-through aligns and ensures the saw “blade” is at a right angle tothe elongated length of the log. The saw blade cuts the foam in a waythat is much more similar to a knife than a saw as it removes little ifany material and in that way prevents a saw-dust like mess fromaccumulating, which would need to be cleaned up. This product allowsparents and children to build their own designs or suggested designs bycutting logs to the desired length, providing a design freedom in ‘childfull sized scale’ construction that is unique and can enclose the forhide and seek or other games.

Using the devices of the disclosed technology, one can build a log cabin(pages 7-9) by stacking logs at right angles and connecting using a maleconnector alone. One cuts pieces to size to fit as shown in thedrawings.

Moving on now to the pirate ship beginning page 12, one can see angledlogs which are attached together with connectors at the bow of the shipcausing them to bend. A combination of right angle connectors, flatconnectors, and double-ended male connectors are used as shown on page13. Flat connectors inserted between two longs extending horizontallysupport the cannons. The flat connector “sticks out” form the logs andis attached underneath the cannon, cut to length with a saw inembodiments of the disclosed technology, by a fastener through one ofthe portals of the flat connector.

Now skipping to page 21, two logs can be attached together end to end tomake a longer log using a cylindrical connector. Such a connector ismade of expanded polyethylene or a harder plastic and has an outercircumference like that of the inner circumference of two logs which itattaches. The logs are attached together at their hollow ends such thattheir sides align and form a continuous side (“continuous” being definedas within 5 mm for purposes of this disclosure). The cylindricalconnector supports the attachment by being placed in a part of the innerarea of each connected log.

Other connectors are shown the subsequent pages including one with aflat stand inner connector with extending region which fits into thecentral area of a log (page 22), a right angle inner connector (page23), and spike (page 25) having an elongated length stem. Optionally, asimple string is used to connect a plurality of logs.

In an alternative embodiment, any other shape made from expanded plasticis used as the building blocks or logs. Furthermore, these buildingblocks can interlock directly without the use of connectors, in a rangeof ways. These ways include, but are not limited to; tongue and groovetype interlocks as shown in the Figures on pages 31-34.

Planer or flat panel building blocks are the shape illustrated in FIGS.31-34. This flat panel shape has an aperture in the center, flat sides,a groove on the bottom side and a protrusion on the topside, such thatthe protrusion of one block fits into the groove on the bottom side ofanother building block.

In short, one can use the tools and embodiments described to connecttubes in multiple ways. The tubes have flat sides with portals andhollow inner areas. The portals and inner areas can be used to connectvarious straight, right-angled, and other connectors while thetubes/logs/extrusions themselves can be cut to any desired size. Assuch, one can create a next to limitless amount of varied creations.

Although the portals need not be at regular intervals, by putting themat regular intervals in the log, a child can easily measure out thelength of the log they desire to cut by counting the spaces as being 2″apart for example, so they can construct accurately measured playsetswithout the need for measuring tapes and rulers.

While the disclosed technology has been taught with specific referenceto the above embodiments, a person having ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departingfrom the spirit and the scope of the disclosed technology. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. All changes that come within the meaning and rangeof equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.Combinations of any of the methods, systems, and devices describedherein above are also contemplated and within the scope of the disclosedtechnology.

What is claimed:
 1. A hollow, substantially oval expanded plastic foamextrusion with flat planar faces on opposing sides of the extrusiontangent to two opposing sides that are curved surfaces of the expandedplastic foam extrusion, extending the length of the extrusion that areused for soft, lightweight foam structural element.
 2. An expandedplastic foam extrusion wherein the flat planar areas along opposingsides of the expanded plastic foam extrusion of claim 1, such that theextrusions are stackable without any fasteners.
 3. An expanded plasticfoam extrusion of claim 1, wherein the plastic is expanded polyethylene.4. The expanded plastic foam extrusion of claim 1, wherein the flatareas on opposing sides of the expanded plastic foam extrusion haveportals to receive fasteners.
 5. The expanded plastic foam extrusion ofclaim 4, wherein the portals are at regular intervals to receivefasteners along the full length of the extrusion.
 6. The expandedplastic foam extrusion of claim 5, wherein the regular interval portalsare along the length of the extrusion such that the measured length ofthe extrusion can be determined by counting the number of holes alongits length and multiplying by the distance between hole centers todetermine the measured length of the extrusion without any need formaking additional measurements.
 7. The expanded plastic foam extrusionof claim 5, wherein fasteners are removably connected to two extrusionsthrough portals in each to connect or disconnect the extrusions withoutdamaging the expanded plastic foam extrusions or the damaging theportals in them.
 8. The fasteners of claim 7, are made of injectionmolded plastic.
 9. The fasteners of claim 7, the fastener is symmetricalabout a central planar disk having a diameter greater than 1.7 inches.10. The fasteners of claim 9, wherein each end of the fastener extendingout from the central planar disk extends into the hollow area of theexpanded plastic foam extrusions through the portals in the expandedplastic extrusion with an interference fit so the fastener can remainremovably attached to the expanded plastic foam until it is deliberatelyremoved.
 11. The fasteners of claim 10, wherein they are held togetherby connectors that allow the fasteners to connect expanded plastic foamextrusion in different orientations to each other.
 12. A toy saw, in theshape of an inverted “U” that provides tension to the cutting portion ofthe toy saw having no saw teeth and creating no “sawdust” from theplastic foam as it simply bursts the bubbles in the foam as it seversthe extrusion that it passes through when pushed or pulled in contactwith the expanded plastic foam extrusion with some downward pressure onthe saw handle.
 13. The portion of the saw in claim 12, for cutting theexpanded plastic foam extrusion is made of a flat or planar piece ofplastic with a cutting edge that is not sharp enough to cut skin. 14.The portion of the saw in claim 12, for cutting the expanded plasticfoam extrusions extrusion is made of a flat piece of metal that is notsharp enough to cut skin
 15. The portion of the saw in claim 12, forcutting the expanded plastic foam extrusions is made of a linear elementsuch as a string that not sharp enough to cut skin
 16. The portion ofthe saw in claim 12, for cutting the expanded plastic foam extrusions ismade of a linear element such as a metal wire that is not sharp enoughto cut skin.
 17. A method of using the expanded plastic foam extrusionwherein a toy saw allows the expanded plastic foam extrusions to be cutto desired length and assembled temporarily to build non-weight bearingstructures that do not support the weight of children who climb on themand does not hurt the children when a constructed structure falls onthem because the expanded plastic foam extrusions are soft and verylight weight.
 18. A method of using of expanded plastic foam extrusionin claim 17, wherein a toy saw allows the hollow extrusions to be cut tolength and assembled temporarily with fasteners to build non-weightbearing structures that do support the weight of children who climb onthem or when a constructed structure falls on them because the expandedplastic foam extrusions are soft and very light weight.